


Strange Company

by shorttfuse



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, Gen, POV Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 20:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/678804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shorttfuse/pseuds/shorttfuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perhaps Bilbo has more in common with the Dwarves than he thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strange Company

**Author's Note:**

> just a small thing i wrote for the kink meme asking for asexual!bilbo. i havent written much of anything in a long while so im trying to ease myself back into it.

"She's a beauty, isn't she? Finest beard of any lass I've ever laid eyes upon. And that there's my son, Gimli." Gloin said, pointing to the sketch of a younger looking dwarf in the picture frame.

"Yes, ah, they're..." Bilbo struggled to find the words. He had to keep glancing between Gloin, who rode abreast him, and the path. He had never ridden a horse before, and was finding the whole experience quite strange. Hobbits were creatures of the earth, and as such, in his opinion, belonged firmly on the ground. The sensation of his feet bouncing along with the horse without actually touching anything was off putting to say the least. "...quite lovely," he finished lamely. The (admittedly grand) facial hair on the picture of what had to be Gloin's wife was a bit disconcerting, but he tried to be culturally sensitive. Who was he to judge what dwarves found attractive? He couldn't even call himself an expert in what _Hobbits_ found attractive, aged more than 50 years and not a single marriage prospect in sight.

Gloin didn't seem to notice Bilbo's hesitation, and beamed until his brother shouted back from the front of the company. 

"Give the poor fellow a break, won't you, Gloin? I don't suspect he wants to hear another tale of your son's prowess with the ax, though he's much too polite to say so." He heard a few scattered laughs, and Gloin roared in anger.

"And what of you, Mr. Baggins?" Kili called out before Gloin could retaliate. "We must have seen dozens of little hobbits running around during our visit. Were any of them yours, by chance?"

Bilbo cleared his throat and blushed. "Ah, no. I'm. Not married."

Bilbo looked around to gauge the reaction. To his left, Balin hummed in agreement, but aside from that none was forthcoming. 

"Are..." He paused, tried again. "Are any of the rest of you married?" 

Bofur spoke up. "Not in this company, no. Gloin is the only one, though I imagine Fili or Kili will eventually settle down with a wife, if only to produce an heir and continue the lineage. I still hold out hope that one day I might be fortunate enough to find love, but who knows? The majority of us are far to busy to worry about such things."

"Oh." Bilbo felt a little faint. In The Shire, his Took blood and lack of interest in courting had earned him many odd looks and whispers when he walked by. As most of his friends settled down and urged Bilbo to do the same, he had felt isolated and alone. Perhaps here, on the road among thirteen of the strangest company he had ever met, he could find a kindred spirit.

At the hobbit's continued silence, Bofur glanced over his shoulder, eyebrows knit with concern. "You all right, lad?"

"Hmm?" Bilbo looked up. "Oh, yes." He shot a slight smile to Bofur, who grinned back. "I'm quite fine, thank you." 

And, surprisingly enough, he found that he was telling the truth.


End file.
